This is the dress that I wore for three months during the genocide. My mother gave me this African wrap because it was the rainy season at the time. She also gave me a necklace and said, “If they kill me, have this in remembrance of me.” – Edith Umugiraneza

Living Ubuntu, in collaboration with Amnesty International – Irvine and six local academic institutions, presents a six-event commemorative film series featuring the stories of survivors and their children. April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month, and each film commemorates a genocide that started during April. Living Ubuntu provides education about global traumas as part of its mission to heal trauma in order to promote peace. All films are free and open to the public.

Below is an interview with Edith Umugiraneza, a Rwandan genocide survivor who will be a featured speaker at the Rwanda genocide event.

An Interview with Edith Umugiraneza

A: I was 17 years old when the genocide started. Before that, life was good. I was a high school student with six siblings. My mother was a widow. We had a normal life. I was the youngest.

Q: Prior to the genocide did you have many Hutu friends? Did you notice divisions between the two populations?

A: No. And yes, when we were in elementary school they used to ask us which group we belonged to. Each year they would ask this to find out who people were. They were practicing segregation to choose who would go to public and private schools. The Hutus were chosen to go to public schools. The Tutsis would be sent to private schools, and many of them didn’t have money to afford the tuition so they didn’t go to school at all. Before the genocide, in the political parties, we could see people being jailed because of who they were.

Vigils and ceremonies brought survivors of the genocide back to 1994 – back to the horror and the unimaginable and inexcusable slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Wounds were reopened and memories came flooding in.

One individual attending a vigil broke down in tears and begged not to be cut.

Although painful, commemoration of the genocide is important. The unfortunate revitalization of trauma does not mean that the atrocities of 1994 should be forgotten. Rather, it means that the obstacles facing these individuals as they fight for stability and reconciliation, 15 years later, should not be forgotten.

Another note – those traumatized in Rwanda continue to outnumber available facilities and counselors equipped to provide the necessary support.